“Yeah.” He finally spoke. “Kellan can be a sneaky little shit.”
“But the rest of them?” Megan said. “The rest, I’m sure, are lovely.”
Adam’s car was already in the drive when Megan and Cami arrived at the house. Dusi Sunday dinner had gone late into the night, and while Trina and Adam had wanted to return home, Cami had been having too much fun with her friend Deirdre and wanted to stay.
And Megan? Well, she’d maybe played a few more rounds of horseshoes with Nico before her telekinesis had begun to wane.
She was tired and more than a little on edge. She’d been sitting with Nico most of the night, and she knew there were many pairs of Dusi eyes on her, wondering what she was doing with the most available cousin in the clan. Strangely enough, the eyes that were so visible to her seemed to faze Nico not one bit. He kept Megan close through the evening, sneaking little asides into her ear and clearly leaning into the friendly side of their friendly professional relationship.
He also told anyone and everyone who would listen that Megan would be starting her own business and wasn’t working for Dusi Heritage exclusively anymore.
Over and over, she caught him looking at her, slipping her little smiles, and touching her hand or her arm casually.
In short, Sugar was about ready to hunt the man down and have her way with him. Megan’s libido was raring, but Sugar got a bucket of cold water dumped on her when Rodney’s car pulled up behind Megan’s in the driveway.
Cami shot her a look, and her lip was slightly curled. “What’s he doing here?”
“I have no idea.” Megan leaned over and kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Why don’t you just say good night quickly and go to bed? It’s your bedtime anyway.”
Her daughter rushed out of the car, gave her father a quick wave, and shouted, “Good night!” as she walked in the house.
Megan got out of her Mercedes and walked to the end of the driveway to see what Rodney wanted. “Hey. What’s up? I thought we’d talked about you coming over here without texting.”
Rodney was wearing a dark blue golf shirt and a pair of khaki slacks. His hair was combed into a neat wave on top of his head, and his shoes were bright white and spotless.
Perfectly Rodney from head to toe.
“I haven’t done that in months,” he said. “And I’ve been texting you for a few days and you haven’t gotten back to me.”
“I’ve been busy and the kids are with me this week, so I know it’s not about them.” Which means you have no reason to be harassing me with texts and phone calls. “Is this about your new girlfriend?”
“Yes. This is about Angela.” He had the grace to look embarrassed. “I know that you met her the other day and she told you we were dating.”
“And?”
“I’m sorry you had to find out that way. I should have told you myself.”
Megan frowned. “Why would I feel any kind of way about you dating someone new?” She smirked. “Honey, you were dating new people before we even split up. Remember?” She couldn’t resist. She shifted her hip and sent a shove of energy toward Rodney’s cheeky convertible, making the alarm trip and go wild.
He scrambled for the key, quickly turning the alarm off before it caused a scene with the neighbors. “I don’t know why it always does that when you’re around.”
“Just around me?” She pressed her lips together. “That’s strange. You know, sometimes they set those sensors so high—”
“I’ve had them checked like three times now.” He was scowling at the car. “Forget about the alarm. I’m dating Angela Calvo. And I think it’s serious. That’s why I want the kids to meet her.”
“Oh.” Megan kept her eyes wide and guileless. “More serious than Amber? Or… Crystal. I can’t remember her name. Or um… Casey? More serious than her? Maybe more serious than Layla? That was the one who was just a few years older than our oldest daughter. Remember her?”
Rodney’s nostrils flared. “Listen, we’re not married anymore—”
Megan barked out a laugh. “You can say that again.”
“—and I’ve moved on. I don’t know what you feel right now, Megan.” The corner of his mouth turned up. “I’m sure you have some bitterness because you’re alone and I traded you in for a new model.”
She held up a hand. “Oh no. You can fuck right off with that nonsense, Rodney Tucker Carpenter. I was always too good for you, and we both know it.”
He shrugged. “Whatever makes you feel better. I just know that your resentment toward the other women I’ve dated shouldn’t color your view of Angela. She’d like to meet you for lunch to get to know you better, and I think that’s really gracious of her. She’s classy, Megan. She comes from… well, from a quality family.”
Was she supposed to laugh? Throw something at him? Megan set his car alarm off again.
“This fucking—!” Rodney let loose a stream of curses as he dropped his keys while trying to get them out of his pocket so he could turn off the alarm.
“Careful,” Megan said. “You wouldn’t want Angela’s ‘quality family’ to hear that mouth.”
“Will you go to lunch with her or not?” Rodney was losing his wits as Megan set off the car alarm over and over. As soon as he turned it off, she set it going again. Neighbors were peeking out the front doors.
Megan waved to each one. “Sorry, Mrs. Barrens! I apologize, Mr. Lopez. I’m not sure what’s wrong with Rodney’s car.” She pointed to her ears. “I’m sorry for the noise, Mr. Rainer. I’m sure Rodney will be gone soon.”
“Will you just” —Rodney shoved his keys in the ignition and the alarm finally turned off— “meet the woman for lunch? She’d like to get to know you better so you feel more comfortable letting the kids meet her.”
“The kids can do whatever they want. You know I’ve never limited your visitation. If you want this woman to spend time with them—”
“I realize that, but Trina won’t see me at all. Adam is seventeen now, and Cami follows everything Adam and Trina do.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “I see. You want me to like your new girlfriend so our kids will like her too.”
“I don’t care if you like her or not.” Rodney’s face was bright red. “She cares. And I’m trying to convince this woman that my kids don’t hate me, okay?”
Oh, you pitiful man. Looks like the consequences of your own actions are finally catching up with you.
Megan didn’t have to do anything. After all, Rodney was the asshole. The kids had good heads on their shoulders, so if Angela Calvo was a decent person, they’d see that eventually.
Still… it wouldn’t be a bad thing to figure out how serious this was. Megan was tired of the ups and downs of her ex dating and her kids being along for the ride. Maybe Angela wasn’t that into Rodney. Then Megan could issue her a stern warning and move on with her life, knowing she’d spared another woman the same headache she’d survived.
She smiled at the red-faced man in her driveway. “Sure, Rodney. I’ll meet with her. Give her my number and tell her to text me.” Megan turned to go into the house as Rodney started his car and reversed down the driveway, finally leaving their neighborhood in relative peace.